Vanier Park museums

A little to the west of Granville Island, Vanier Park conveniently collects most of the city’s main museums: the Vancouver Museum (museumofvancouver.ca), the Maritime Museum (vancouvermaritimemuseum.com) and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre (spacecentre.ca). Vanier Park sits on the waterfront at the west end of the Burrard Bridge, near Kitsilano Beach and the residential shopping and dining centres of Kitsilano and West 4th Avenue; it’s a fine spot to while away a summer afternoon. You could easily incorporate a visit to the museums with a trip to Granville Island using the ferry, which docks just below the Maritime Museum. Coming from Downtown, take the #22 Macdonald bus south from anywhere on Burrard or West Pender streets – get off at the first stop after the bridge and walk down Chestnut Street to the park. The park itself is pleasant, with a few nice patches of sandy beach on its fringes.